Welcome back to the 2016 Debut Author Series! I hope you all enjoyed my last interview with debut author Marieke Nijkamp. I’m excited to introduce my second interviewee: Kathryn Purdie, author of Burning Glass (To be released March 1, 2016). Let’s begin!
1. What character trait would you thieve from someone else (and who from)?
I want to be as unapologetically fierce as Sybella is in Dark Triumph by Robin LeFevers. She also discovers she’s good at heart WHILE being such a force of nature, and I love that mix.
2. What’s the last lie you told?
I told my seven-year-old daughter that her older brother was asleep in bed, when really he stayed up to watch Star Wars with us.
3. If you could punch one person on the planet with absolutely no repercussions, who would it be?
The dentist who half-tranquilized my kid so he couldn’t move but never numbed his mouth (because the dentist was too lazy) while he drilled my son’s cavities for the next 1 ½ hours! Rage!!
4. What possession do you consider your “precious”? So, something you’d fight to the death for on the slopes of Mt. Doom.
My new Edward Scissorhands Funko Pop! doll. I coveted this toy so much I actually got two, one from my husband and one from my best friend. Edward Scissorhands changed my life when I was a teenager! I identified with him so much. Now he’s my writing mascot.
5. Best one line writing advice you’ve ever gotten?
Put th
e strongest word in your sentence at the very end where it has more weight.
6. What book do you wish you’d written?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This whole series is
amazeballs. I spent a decade of my life rereading these books and hardly anything else. So many aspects of the series are incredible, but my favorite moments are when Harry learns secrets of the past regarding his parents, Voldemort, the marauders, Dumbledore, and Snape. So good!
7. You can only listen to one song for the rest of your life. What is it?
“Christmas Lights” by Coldplay. It’s a holiday song, but I heard it the first time in the summer during a time in my life when everything was changing and felt magical. It was the summer I attended my first writing conference, and I had so much hope for becoming a published writer. Somehow this song captures all of that feeling, even though the lyrics don’t match up. 😉
8. You magically obtain the ability to cast one and only one spell from the Harry Potter universe—but you can cast it as much as you like. Which one is it?
Expecto patronum! I’d have a stallion patronus that would shoot out of my wand and trample over all my demon writing doubts and insecurities. Perfect!
9. With only your wit and an oft-malfunctioning magic wand, you are forced into a death match with either Shelob, the enormous spider from Lord of the Rings, or Voldemort. Who do you choose?
Yikes! I have terrible reflexes, and with my faulty wand, I’m sure I’d die. So I’ll vote for the most painless death. Since Shelob would sting me, wrap me up in webs, and slowly eat me, I’d have to go with Voldemort in the hopes he’d just say, “Avada kedavra,” and be done with it. But if he used one of the other two forbidden curses, maybe I’d be better off getting sucked dry by Shelob!
10. Describe your debut novel in one sentence:
When a growing rebellion forces an empath to side with either the emperor who trusts her or his mysterious brother, the crown prince, Sonya realizes she may be the key to saving the empire—or its greatest threat.
Thanks, Kathryn, for participating in this series! You can find Kathryn on Twitter at @KathrynPurdie. And don’t forget to purchase a copy of her book, to be released on March 1, 2016!
Stay tuned for more interviews with amazing debut authors over the next few months!